Artificial neural networks (ANN) are a subset of machine learning that mimic the structure and function of the human brain to process information. They have gained immense popularity over the past few years because of their ability to learn from data and make predictions without being explicitly programmed.
Structure of ANNs
ANNs consist of interconnected nodes or neurons, similar to the neurons in the human brain. Each neuron receives inputs from other neurons and processes them using an activation function to generate an output. The outputs of the neurons in one layer of the network serve as inputs to the neurons in the next layer, and the process continues until the final output is generated.
Applications of ANNs
ANNs have numerous applications in various industries such as healthcare, finance, and transportation. They are used for image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and recommendation systems in e-commerce. In healthcare, ANNs help in disease diagnosis, drug development, and personalized treatment plans. They are also used in fraud detection in the finance industry and in optimizing traffic flow in transportation.
Advantages and Limitations of ANNs
The advantages of ANNs include their ability to learn from complex and large datasets, make accurate predictions, and adapt to changing environments. However, ANNs require significant computational resources and data preprocessing, and their results can be difficult to interpret. Also, overfitting and underfitting are common problems in ANN training.
Conclusion
Artificial neural networks are transforming the world with their ability to learn from data and make predictions. They have numerous applications in various industries and offer several advantages to businesses. However, to harness the full potential of ANNs, it is essential to understand their limitations and invest in training and computational resources.